


By Any Other Name

by queen_scribbles



Category: The Wayhaven Chronicles (Interactive Fiction)
Genre: F/M, Interrupted Moment, Mutual Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-05
Updated: 2020-01-05
Packaged: 2021-02-27 15:09:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,526
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22129258
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/queen_scribbles/pseuds/queen_scribbles
Summary: Nicknames are tricky things sometimes.
Relationships: Female Detective/Nathaniel "Nate" Sewell
Comments: 2
Kudos: 17





	By Any Other Name

**Author's Note:**

> First Wayhaven Chronicles fic. /finger guns (set mid-book 1, after the whole reveal about Unit Bravo and the Agency)

One definite advantage--and to be honest, Abigail’s favorite--of knowing the truth about Unit Bravo, her mother’s work, and the supernatural in general was how much less tense it made things. Amazingly, not keeping secrets made casual conversation so much easier.

_Well,_ she amended with a small, private smile, glancing between the two members of said unit currently sharing her office space, _in some cases more than others._

Felix grinned, having caught the expression, subtle as it was. “Smiling at the sight of me, Detective?” he teased, and Abigail couldn’t help but snort a small laugh. Before she could open her mouth to reply, however, he rolled right on, grin shifted somewhere closer to a smirk, “Or was it Natey that did it?”

Her coffee sloshed as she set the mug down a bit more hurriedly than intended, in tandem with Nate’s mildly exasperated sigh and straightened posture in the chair he’d claimed.

His quiet but reproving, “ _Felix.._.” only bought her a few seconds to scramble for her wits, but hopefully that was enough.

Abigail shook her head, tucking a curl that slid loose with the motion behind her ear. “Just thinkin’ how nice it is t’ be in the know, now. I hate feelin’ kept in th’ dark.”

Nate shifted in the chair, brow crinkling over those _unfairly_ deep brown eyes of his. “I truly am sorry we weren’t free to tell you sooner, detective.”

She bit the inside of her cheek at the gooseflesh that prickled up her arms and instead flashed a warm smile. “I know. An’ I understand it bein’ to protect me, that’s always been Mum’s primary concern. All I _meant_ is it’s nice t’ be able t’ just talk to you. A-All of you,” she corrected hastily, not even daring to look at Felix. If she so much as glimpsed a knowing grin from him, she would very likely burst into flames of embarrassment “I mean, the ones who deign to,” she joked, trying to change the subject at least a _little_.

“Ahhh, Adam’ll come around,” Felix said with an encouraging smile. “He’s just grumpy about about working with a human.” He winked. “Even one as special as you are. Might not ever be as fun as _us_ , mind you, but he’ll play nicer once he sees you can keep up.”

“Which we know you can,” Nate added quickly(too quickly?) with a warm smile.

“I appreciate your votes of confidence,” Abigail said with a small laugh. “But good as that is t’ know, I wasn’t thinkin’ of Adam.”

“Eh, Mason hardly talks to _anyone_ ,” Felix said, gesturing dismissively with one hand. “I wouldn’t take that personally, detective.”

“Y’know,” she began, running her finger around the rim of her mug with a smile, “if we’re goin’ to be working t’gether more closely”--a quickly raised brow to head off the comment he was about to make--”you don’t need t’ be so formal from here on out.”

“Really?” they said in unison, Felix with yet another grin and Nate with a brow raised in surprise. “That’s... very nice of you,” Nate added, holding her gaze.

Abigail shrugged and glanced down at her desk, picking at the edge of her memo pad. “Why not? It’ll help build a sense of camaraderie, yeah?”

“Not that some of us need any help there,” Felix muttered, amber eyes glinting with mischief.

She ignored him, or tried to. But her cheeks were still warm as she let her gaze drift to the computer screen. _Shoot, is that the time?_ It really did pass faster when you enjoyed your company. “Alright, fun as this is, break’s over. We need t’ get back to work.”

Nate nodded, sitting forward in his chair. “Of course. What’s next?”

Felix, on the other hand, slouched even more comfortably, giving a playfully dramatic groan. “Aw, Abby, do we have to?”

Abigail just barely bit back the grimace, her jaw tightening a brief moment before she answered Nate’s question. “I want to see if Verda’s found anything new, and we should probably check in with Adam and Mason, see what they’ve learned.”

“I’ll come with you,” Nate said, pushing to his feet. “Felix can handle finding the others.”

“That eager to get rid of me, are you?” Felix chuckled, reluctantly peeling himself out of his chair as well.

“No, I just think you’ll enjoy getting out of the station for a while more than you would visiting the lab,” Nate replied smoothly.

“One being true doesn’t mean the other isn’t,” Felix said with a wink, but he headed out the door all the same. “You two behave yourselves, now.”

Abigail chuckled softly as she watched him exit the station.

Nate was holding the door for her when she looked back. “After you,” he smiled. “Abigail.”

She bit her lip to keep her answering sunny smile from spreading _too_ uncontrollably as she stepped through. “Thank you. Nate.” 

“I’m sorry if he jumped straight to being more casual than you intended,” Nate said as they headed for the stairs.

“Oh, no, nothin’ against nicknames,” she said, shoving her hands in her pockets. Of _course_ he’d caught her reaction. “I’m just not fond of that particular one.”

Despite the brow he quirked in curiosity, Nate did not push for an explanation as to why she disliked the most common short form of her given name. The walk down the stairs wasn’t long, but when they reached the pathology lab door, it was closed with an ‘ _Out to Lunch_ ’ note stuck on the glass.

“Does he always eat this late?” Nate asked, hands shoved deep in his pockets.

“Not often, but it has been known t’ happen,” Abigail said, pulling out her phone to double-check the time, even through she’d just seen it a few minutes prior.

“Is it worth waiting for him to return, or should we meet up with the others for now, and check back later?”

She nibbled her lower lip in thought. “I’m really curious if he found anything with the new parameters we suggested,” she finally admitted around a sigh. “Let’s give it a few minutes, yeah? If he’s not back in five t’ ten, we’ll regroup with th’ rest of Bravo and I’ll just talk to him tomorrow, I guess.”

He nodded. “Alright.”

The two leaned against the wall, hands in pockets, and Abigail tried to suppress a shiver as the chill from the painted cinder-blocks sank through her clothes. Neither of them spoke at first, allowing companionable silence to settle over them. There was something _more_ to it, however; an edge of heat or tension that was not in the least unpleasant, even if it _was_ distracting.

“Kids used t’ pick on me,” Abigail said abruptly. “Why I don’t like Abby,” she elaborated, then wrinkled her nose sheepishly when Nate cocked his head in confusion. “Sorry, I’m doin’ this wrong way ‘round, aren’t I?”

“It’s alright,” he smiled, half turning to face her. “But don’t feel like you have to explain-”

“I don’t,” she assured him. “I want to.” The loose curl slipped free from behind her ear, and she wound it around her finger as she started over. “I’ve got a fair dose of straight Irish in me thanks to my dad, an’ it decided t’ manifest in th’ most stereotypical way possible”--she paused to tug the rebellious red lock around her finger and gesture to the freckles that covered her face--”which makes me rather hard t’ miss.”

“Can’t argue with that,” Nate commented, but from the warmth of his smile, he wasn’t _complaining_ , either.

Abigail’s face warmed, despite the chilly surroundings, and she looked down at her boots rather than risk losing herself in those _eyes_. “Anyways, kids bein’ kids, my schoolmates decided that if I looked an Irish stereotype, maybe I was other ones, too. Y’know, the temper, the stubbornness, th’ tendency t’ chatter. An’ well,” she hunched her shoulders, feeling a fresh chill from the cinder-blocks as she moved off the patch she’d warmed through contact. “Kids can be absolutely horrid when they want t’ be. If I talked too much I was ‘Gabby Abby’, otherwise it was ‘Abby the Red’ both for m’ hair and th’ color m’ face went tryin’ t’ weather their jibes without givin’ them the response they were hopin’ for.” A self-deprecating smile pulled at her lips as she scuffed one boot against the tiled floor. “Got real good at that. Maybe too good, considerin’ how long it took later teachers and friends t’ pull me out of my shell.” She finally looked back up to find Nate studying her with such intensity and concern it made her want to freeze and slide closer at the same time. “I know it’s more’n a decade ago, an’ a silly reason t’ dislike a nickname, especially one so common, and surely not meant the same way by anyone _now_ , but...”

“Abigail,” he said quietly, stepping closer. “It’s not silly. Even if it _was_ , it doesn’t matter. If it makes you uncomfortable, then that’s reason enough not to do it. I’ll talk to Felix.”

She shook her head, stuffing her hands in her pockets. “I’ll do it. It’s my name. B’sides, he might listen better hearin’ it from th’ source.”

Nate laughed. “An excellent point. He will ask for alternatives, mind you.”

“Mm, will he?” she replied with a laugh of her own. “Perhaps simply ‘Abigail’ is good enough for now.”

“I think so,” he said softly, smile tugging his lips as he gently tucked the hair back behind her ear. “And not just for now.”

She was suddenly very, _very_ aware of her heartbeat, the cinder-block wall pressing her shoulder as she turned to face him, and just how alone they were down here. “Thank you, Nate,” she mumbled, fighting the urge to reach up and touch the hair he’d just smoothed back. “And also thank you for comin’ with me. Th’ creepy basement hallway doesn’t seem so bad with... with company.”

Nate’s smile bloomed even more fully, as if he guessed the extra word she’d almost dropped in that sentence, and he leaned a little closer. “You’re very welcome, Abigail. It’s no trouble, and we are supposed to be protecting you, after all.”

Abigail smiled and drifted closer to him. “Oh, I see. So protection’s the only reason you’re keepin’ me company, Agent Sewell?”

His smile stretched into a full-blown grin and he closed the distance still further, now close enough she had to tip her head back to meet his gaze. Which she very much wanted to do, especially if he was going to keep looking at her like _that_. “What do you think, Detective Jenings?”

_God_ , her heart was either going to leap out of her chest or stop altogether. “I think-”

“Oh, detective, I’m sorry, have you been waiting long?”

Abigail’s eyes fluttered closed and she fought down the rapidly rising scream of frustration. She really was going to shoot the next thing that did that, human, vampire, or otherwise. No matter who it was. “Not long, Verda,” she said, shooting Nate a final lingering look as she spun to face the source of the latest horribly timed interruption with a smile on her face. “We’d just wanted to see if you had found anything new?”

Verda’s gaze flicked across the small gap between her and Nate as he nodded. “Actually, yes. I hadn’t quite finished writing up my report, but if you two would like to come in” --he moved past them to unlock and open the door--”I can have it done in just a minute.”

“Thanks, that would be great.” Abigail trailed him through the doorway, a faint smile pulling her lips when Nate had to duck as he followed suit, butterflies tickling in her chest when the movement brought him close enough their arms almost brushed in the moment before he straightened.

“I’ll just need a minute,” Verda reiterated, sliding onto his stool and tugging over the manila folder.

“Take your time,” she assured him, leaning against a counter. Nate mirrored the pose nearby, and when she glanced his direction, Abigail caught him studying her again. The two of them shared an only mildly-abashed smile before they settled in to wait for the report.

And if their hands happened to slip against the shiny metal counter and wind up closer to each other, well, that was obviously an accident. Nothing more.

True to his word, Verda finished the report swiftly and handed it over. Abigail thanked him, Nate held the door for her, and the two of them headed back up the stairs. Her phone chimed as they stepped back into her office, and she pulled it out to check the screen, fairly certain she knew what it was, considering Nate’s pocket buzzed practically in tandem.

Sure enough, “Felix says we need t’ meet up with them. Guess they found somethin’ important.” Abigail gave a wry chuckle and tucked the report in a drawer. “So that could’ve waited for t’morrow after all,” she commented, reaching for her jacket. 

“At least now you’ll have it soon as you come in,” Nate pointed out.

“True.” They pulled on their jackets and he waited while she closed up her office. “Felix didn’t happened t’ tell _you_ where they are, did he?” she asked, bemused, as they made their way out of the station. It was a rather important piece of information, and one he’d left off.

He shook his head and held the door for her, smile pulling at his lips. “He did not. We’ll just have to walk until we find them.”

The shiver that traipsed up her spine had nothing to do with the cool air, Abigail was fairly certain. She smiled. “Oh, what a shame.”

Nate chuckled and shoved his hands deeper in his pockets. “Is it? I can’t think of many better ways to spend such an afternoon than a good walk with good company.”

Her face flamed as she fell in step beside him, noting once again how he checked his stride so she could keep up. “Hard t’ argue with that. An’ at least it’s still light; keeps it from bein’ too chilly.”

“As well as allowing us to enjoy the view.” His expression was innocent and gaze on the picturesque streets spread before them, but there was just enough a hint of something in his voice to tell her there was deeper meaning to the words.

“That it does,” she agreed lightly, her own faux innocence even more easily seen through than his, she was sure. “No rush, then, I suppose?”

“Not so far as I’m concerned,” Nate said. “Adam might disagree.”

“Best not to mosey, then,” Abigail replied with a quiet chuckle.

Even if they didn’t mosey through the streets, they didn’t exactly hurry, either. It gave them plenty of time to enjoy the weather and company both, an arrangement that suited Abigail just fine. She planned to enjoy all the benefits of knowing the truth, but she’d have been lying to deny that these sorts of moments were right at the top of the list.


End file.
